Carrying Your Love
by Blyn
Summary: Sequel to Walking the Line that follows Season 4 and 5! "Bug's like to run through close quarters. Doesn't get any closer than this." Jess glanced up at Daryl from the dead body on the floor and found his eyes on her. It could get closer. They'd shared a bed last night and he'd shook Patrick's hand yesterday. She might be infected now because of him.
1. Blind Squirrel

Weeks turned into months after the altercation at the hardware store in Zebulon and Daryl healed quickly. He was a tough bastard, according to Glenn. In those months, Jess and Daryl had talked and worked their relationship out and grew very close.

They'd spent hours together while he was healing and many times she would open up to him, telling him about her time with her sister and why she wanted to find her parents while most others had just accepted the fact that their families were dead. Each time they'd talk, she'd try to get more information out of Daryl about himself but he would just sit there silently and dodge her questions. After a while, she gave up and hoped he would tell her in his own time. It hadn't taken her long to realize that he was ashamed of what he was before he'd joined Rick's group. Perhaps he thought she would think less of him if she knew but there was no way. Daryl was who he was today because of his past. She'd told him so on many occasions but he still held back from her.

Despite that Daryl's past was still a mystery to her, it didn't mean she didn't love the man he was now. She didn't have to know his past to know that he was a man with a heart the size of Texas. She loved him just as he was, even though she rarely told him. Jess knew he was a man of few words and held more stock in actions. Every chance she got, she showed him how much she loved him and he did the same.

Everyday they were together they'd shown each other how much they cared for the other, however, they'd yet to sleep together. Daryl still wanted to take things slow and he knew that it'd take some time for Jess to be ready to take that step. She denied that the men who had held her captive and raped her in Mississippi had that much of an impact on her life still but Daryl knew better. She still tensed when he touched her unexpectedly and he could see the fear in her eyes whenever they had a few moments to themselves to be affectionate.

Even though her body betrayed her fear, Jess was still frustrated. She wanted Daryl to help her get passed what happened to her and she desperately wanted to show him how much she loved him but every time she'd flinch or look at him the wrong way he'd back off. The sexual tension between them had grown so much that it was almost all she could think about.

During the time Daryl healed and Hershel brought Michonne's horse up to riding health, Jess ventured out and found a saddle. As soon as Daryl was back on his feet and providing for the prison and Flame was ready, the two women began making trips outside the prison to find the Governor and Jess's parents. Despite the new home Jess had found, she still had a promise to keep and Michonne was driven to find the Governor. As it turned out, most of the places Michonne wanted to check were ones that Jess hadn't searched yet for her parents. They ended up going out together so they wouldn't have to be out there alone. They'd both done that before and it hadn't gone well for either of them.

Now Michonne and Jess were out there together, they were out for long periods of time, which was beginning to get a bit stressful for Jess. Her desire to be with Daryl was beginning to manifest itself in different ways.

* * *

Jess was pulled to wakefulness by an insistent Argo pulling at her braid. The former cowgirl pushed Argo's head away from her to get him to stop as she lay on the ground against the saddle. Michonne's laugh reached Jess as the swordswoman began packing her stuff back into the saddlebags on the back of Flame.

"That never gets old," Michonne chuckled as she patted her horse's neck.

Jess sat up and rubbed her horse between his eyes affectionately, trying to push her dream of Daryl out of her head.

"Yeah yeah," she grumbled. Even though Jess seemed annoyed, she still loved her horse and loved that he woke her up in the mornings but this time she'd been having a really good dream.

Michonne crouched down next to the quiet little brook they'd camped by and filled up her canteen, watching Jess get up and start saddling Argo.

"Must have been some dream," she said slyly.

Jess let out a loud, long sigh as she continued to work. She must have been moaning in her sleep again.

"Sorry. Next time jus' throw somethin' at me so I quit," the former ranch manager yawned as she strapped her weapons to her.

Michonne chuckled.

"We should be home before noon." She pulled a small package out of her saddlebag, "heads up," she said as she tossed it to the cowgirl.

Jess looked down and realized it was a condom, causing her face to turn red in embarrassment.

"Just please get laid so I don't have to listen to that anymore," the dreadlocked woman teased as she pulled herself up into the saddle.

"Dedgumm, girl. Ya thank one's gonna be 'nough," she asked as she tossed it in her saddlebag, trying to hide her embarrassment with banter.

"We can always pick up some more later," Michonne offered as she started leading them to the prison.

"There ain't 'nough left in Georiga ta make me stop dreamin' 'bout them blue eyes, 'Chone," Jess declared with a distant look in her eyes. Almost as if she could see him right then.

"Spare me, please," Michonne pleaded as she kicked Flame into a hard trot.

Jess laughed as she sent Argo after her, images from her dreams still fresh on her mind.

* * *

Daryl was helping the group prepare for the run to the Big Spot when he overheard Zach asking Beth if she was going to tell him bye. He immediately thought of Jess and realized they were the same way. Beth had the right idea but he wasn't about to let her know that.

"It's a damn romance novel," he interrupted as he dropped a crate in the back of the truck.

"And what would you call that thing between you and the Texan?" Zach teased as he continued to watch Beth walk away.

"None of yer damn business," he replied in a flat tone, suddenly in a worse mood.

It had been weeks since he'd seen her last and it was really starting to cause some mood swings he didn't need.

"Geeze, man. I'm just kidding," the younger man said as they walked towards the SUV to load up.

* * *

Jess was too busy grinning ear to ear to whistle their arrival so Michonne had taken it upon herself to do so and kick her horse into a canter. Jess hardly noticed the large groups of walkers at the fences as the doors opened and the pair rode through, slowing down after they were well into the yard.

She and Michonne both dismounted as Carl and Rick came jogging up.

"We're glad to see you two," Rick said in his calm voice.

"Good to see you too," Michonne responded with a smile.

"Good ta be home, fellas," Jess added as she uncinched the saddle so Argo could breath a little easier. She walked Argo towards the stable to finish unsaddling him with a chuckle at the conversation between Michonne and Rick about his beard.

She heard Rick ask how long they were going to stay and was a little disappointed at Michonne's response of "Just a little while". They hadn't had a chance to talk much about the next area they were going to search but Michonne had brought up Macon and how she had a feeling that's where the Governor might be now. Jess, however, wasn't too fond of the idea but hadn't had a chance to say so yet.

Suddenly, the air was filled with the rumble of a motorcycle and Jess couldn't help but stop what she was doing to watch the man that had been plaguing her dreams as of late ride down the hill, leading a small caravan. They must be going on a run, she thought.

Carl noticed her expression change.

"I'll take care of him, Jess," he promised with a knowing smile.

Jess ruffled the young man's hair as she passed him the second set of reins. This kid was smarter than she gave him credit for.

"Thanks, kid," she said as she tried not to run up to Daryl. She couldn't wait to say hello.

The hunter had pulled to a stop and cut off the bike as Jess approached. He looked from Michonne over to Jess, looking her up and down, taking all of her in carefully.

Jess was wearing her blue plaid button up and her hair was in a messy fishtail braid over her shoulder. There was a fine layer of dust on her skin and clothes from riding behind Michonne on the dirt roads and there were a few dried blood smears on her riding chaps. He was glad to see she looked healthy other than the dark circles under her eyes. To him, she looked beautiful. Every time she left and came back, she was more beautiful than the time he last saw her. He guessed it was just the time apart that was doing funny things to him.

"Well, look who's back," he quipped as Jess walked up to him, grabbed his collar, and pressed her lips to his. He smiled into the kiss as he wrapped an arm around her waist to feel her against him. Public displays such as this one were extremely rare for the two of them, in fact she could count on one hand the times they'd shown affection for each other front of others until then. However, it'd been so long since Jess had seen him she just couldn't help herself and he didn't seem to mind either.

Jess heard someone let out a sexy whistle from one of the vehicles behind them. She felt Daryl let go of her with one hand as he held up his middle finger towards the cars\\. Rick cleared his throat behind them and the two reluctantly broke the kiss. Daryl kept his arm around her as he sent an apology with his eyes to Rick.

Michonne broke the moment.

"We didn't find him," she claimed flatly.

Daryl looked up at Jess with a question in his eyes and she shook her head, letting him know she hadn't found her parents either. Daryl let his arm drop slowly from around his girls waist to look between the two new arrivals.

"Glad to see yer in one piece," he replied sincerely.

Jess saw Rick look expectantly at Michonne before she added more bad news to the pile.

"We're thinking of looking over near Macon," the swordswoman continued looking at Rick then to Jess, noticing the looks on their faces, "it's worth a shot," she added hotly.

Michonne wasn't surprised to hear Daryl speak.

"Seventy miles of walkers. Might run into a few unneighborly types," he looked up at Jess with a serious expression directing his next question towards her, "is it?"

The cowgirl looked away from him as Michonne stared blankly and Daryl looked between the two women as he felt they may not be on the same page about Macon. He decided to get back to the matter at hand instead of call them out on it. He wasn't happy about having to leave as soon as Jess got there but he had a job to do so he kept his aggravation carefully hidden and got back down to the reason why he was leaving.

"We're gonna go check out the Big Spot. One I was talkin' 'bout. Just seein'," he said looking up at Rick. He was pressing to see if Rick would offer to go with them since they were short handed for a big haul because of the buildup on the fences.

"Yeah, I gotta go out and check the snares. Don't want to lose whatever we catch to the walkers," he said looking down at his shifting feet.

Michonne was quick to offer to go in his place.

"I'll go," she said as she started walking towards the car.

"Ya ain't goin' without me neither," Jess proclaimed as she went to grab her quiver and bow from it's place around the saddlehorn.

"You just got here," Carl said defensively looking at Michonne. That kid had really grown attached to her over the past several months, and she to him. The warrior had specifically lead them in search of comics for the young man and the look her her face when she had found them was endearing.

"And I'll be back," Michonne promised with that smile she reserved especially for Carl as she continued to the car.

Jess threw her quiver and bow across her and she sent Carl a reassuring smile before she jogged over to Daryl. The hunter started his bike and Jess sat down behind him easily, careful to avoid his saddlebags and rested her hands on his sides. Once she was settled, Daryl gave Rick a brotherly tap before he began to roll down the gravel drive.

The farmer ran to the gate and pulled it open for the leaving crew as Daryl revved his bike once and they pulled out of the safety of the prison.

During the ride, Jess had slowly inched her arms around him, and pressed her face into one of his angel wings in a gentle hug for a few moments. Daryl couldn't help his small smirk as he felt her warmth, more than happy to have her back with him and over the clouds at having her wrapped around him. He'd missed everything about her.

Other than the quick hug, Jess was alert for most of the drive and recognized many places that she and Michonne had checked out during their weeks away. They hadn't been driving through unfamiliar territory long before Daryl pulled the bike up outside the Big Spot he'd talked about to Rick. She got off the bike first and pulled her bow from around her as Daryl pulled out the kickstand and leaned his bike over.

While the others were busy getting out and preparing their weapons, Daryl stole another kiss from her. He grabbed her long braid and pulled her around to him to place his lips needily on hers. She let him have his way with her for a few seconds before she poked her finger into his chest hard.

"Not in front'a tha kids, Peach," she teased with a laugh as she turned to walk away from him.

"You didn't seem to mind too much back there," he growled in frustration referring to their greeting kiss from earlier.

She ignored him as they approached the fence that had been erected in front of the Big Spot. She smiled at the music playing from a boombox several yards away. She knew right away what they'd done to pull the walkers out of there. Everyone suddenly got serious and down to business as they all gathered to look at the hole that had been cut in the fence.

Jess had to hide her smile at the sound of Daryl's rough voice as he explained to the newcomers why the fence and army vehicles were there. She missed that gruff, deep voice of his and even during all the time they'd spent together she didn't get to hear it much as Daryl was a man of few words. She also liked how he spoke in short, exact sentences.

"Army came in, put these fences up. Made it a place for the people to go. Last week when we spotted this place, there was a bunch of walkers behind this chain link. Keeping people out like a bunch of guard dogs."

Daryl swung his crossbow off his shoulders as a man Jess had never seen before spoke up.

"So they all just left?"

Jess shook her head at his question but apparently Sasha felt she needed to explain what had happened even though Jess felt it was fairly obvious.

"Give a listen," she urged.

"You drew them out," Michonne said appreciatively.

"Put a boom box out there two days ago," Sasha confirmed.

"Hooked it up to two car batteries," Glenn added in a deadpan voice. Something was up with that guy, Jess concluded. He was usually more chipper than that seeing he was the only one out of them that got laid on a regular basis.

"Nice," Jess added as Daryl walked through the fence.

"Alright, let's make a sweep. Make sure it's safe. Grab what you can and we'll come back tomorrow with more people," he ordered as he continued through, alert for any threats.

Jess notched an arrow and held it to the string as she moved quietly behind Daryl, double checking all the places he was searching, while they made their way through the line of tents to the front of the store.

"Come on," Daryl called over his shoulder to her and she picked up her pace.

Being here with him reminded her of the day he'd saved her from the office of the grocery store several months ago. She grinned as they approached the storefront, suddenly thankful to still be alive and knowing she owed it all to the man she was following.

Daryl sat down on the edge of the window panes and tapped his elbow hard against the glass. He was drawing the walkers out of hiding in the store, she realized. After one last check of their surroundings, she sat down on his right a few feet away, pulling the arrow out of its notch to twirl it between her fingers as she waited with him.

"Just give it a second," he said as the others continued to walk through the tents.

There were several seconds of silence before the youngest of them, Zach, spoke. Jess knew Zach, he'd been there the last time she and Michonne had wandered back to the prison. She knew that he and Beth had a thing and he was very personable if not a little annoying sometimes, according to Daryl.

"Ok I think I got it," the boy declared as he leaned against the wall nonchalantly.

Jess glanced over at him as Michonne spoke.

"Got what," she asked. Daryl cut his eyes over at Jess, knowing what was coming next and he knew the both of them would enjoy every second of it.

Zach decided to take a seat on the other side of Daryl from Jess so she and Michonne could be included in the conversation. Jess just raised an eyebrow at the brave young man. She'd met him the last time Michonne and Jess had stopped by the prison and it didn't take long for her to figure out he was sweet on Beth. He was also quiet smart and she hadn't been surprised that he'd lasted up to that point on his own. However, not many people would speak that way to the hunter so he wasn't that smart or he'd known Daryl well enough to know that he really wouldn't hurt him.

"Oh I've been trying to guess what Daryl did before the turn," Zach explained as he sat down with his shotgun over his lap.

"He's been trying to guess for like, six weeks," Daryl grumbled finally looking away from Jess. She just continued to listen to the conversation with great interest, knowing this was going to be amusing.

"Yeah well, I been pacing myself. One shot a day," Zach stated.

"Alright, shoot," the Dixon said.

"By the way you are at the prison," Zach began and Daryl gave a nod as he looked away from the kid and chewed on his bottom lip, careful not to look at Jess or he'd lose his cool, "Yeah you're being on the council, you're able to track, you're helping people, but you're still being kind of uh," the young man paused to look for the right word and Jess bit her lips into a thin line to keep from laughing at the one he picked, "surely."

Jess literally sat on the edge of her seat in anticipation of his guess.

"Big swing here," he continued, "Homicide cop."

Jess and Michonne both lost it. Neither of the woman had ever laughed so hard in front of the others before. Jess was laughing so hard she doubled over and held her stomach as she laughed as quietly as possible. Daryl was smiling though he was acting defensively. He'd never seen Jess laugh that hard and he wished she would do it more often. Her laughter was sweet and contagious.

"What's so funny," he asked the two women.

"Nothing, it makes perfect sense," Michonne chuckled, trying to hold herself together.

Jess had to cover her mouth but not before adding her own bit.

"Detective Dixon," she panted, trying not to fall over from laughter.

Daryl just went with the guess.

"Actually, the man's right," he replied coolly and it just sent Jess farther into a set of giggles, "undercover," he added.

He mock glared at Jess as he lead the kid on, unable to take his eyes off the laughing woman close to him.

"Come on, really?" Zach asked seriously.

"Yeah, but I don't like to talk about it cuz, it was a lot of heavy shit, ya know?"

Daryl had to look away so the kid didn't see his smile grow as it became harder to hide that he wasn't telling the truth.

"Dude, come on, really," Zach asked in disbelief.

Jess couldn't help herself and had to throw in another dig.

"Undercover Peach!" She chortled while doubling over again. This also elicited another laugh out of Michonne.

"Peach?" Zach asked curiously but was ignored.

"Why don't you let the man guess for you, kill stealer," Daryl growled, a little agitated that she'd called him a peach in front of the kid. He had a reputation to uphold.

"Kill stealer?" Zach chirped again like a parrot.

"Long story, tenderfoot," Jess gave in explanation as she sat back down, her laughter finally subsiding as she smiled at Daryl before speaking to Zach. "I bet ya can guess mine first try," she said with a wink.

Zach stretched and cracked his knuckles.

"Alright. You're from Texas and got that fancy saddle and horse and how you treat him better than Daryl here, my best guess is a professional barrel racer," he guessed watching her closely for a reaction.

Jess pushed out her bottom lip and gave a surprised nod.

"Impressive, but not quite," she admitted glancing at Daryl who wasn't as impressed. He knew the kid wasn't going to need many guesses. There were a very select few jobs in the old world that required someone have the riding skills and horse that Jess had. Plus she was from Texas.

She wasn't going to be a tease like Daryl so she went ahead and told the kid what she did since he was going to get it on his second or third guess anyway.

"Ranch manager," she stated simply.

"Ranch manager?" Zach questioned her with a raised eyebrow, thinking she was joking with him like Daryl had been.

"Yessir, honest ta goodness ranch manager, or cowgirl. Ran cattle 'n' everythin'," she described looking out at the people still milling about the tents, lost in days that were long gone.

"That was too easy," Daryl complained.

"Well at least he's still got ya, Detective Peach," she teased her man with a wink, "heck, even I dunno what he did."

Zach just shook his head.

"I'll just keep guessing, I guess."

"Yeah, you keep doin that," Daryl said in a bored tone.

"Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once 'n' a while," Jess added with a Texism.

Right at that moment, there was a loud thump against the glass behind them and it was back to business. The hunter and cowgirl didn't even flinch as they stood up and walked around towards the entrance. Daryl held his hand out for the crowbar Glenn had so he could open the door.

"We gonna do this, detective," Michonne asked in a joking voice, not quite ready to let go of the moment.

"Let's do it," Daryl answered as he grabbed the iron object, Jess right behind him.

They cleared the few walkers that had made their way to the front of the store easily and Tyreese pulled out the last of the dead ones while Sasha took charge.

"Alright we go in, stay in formation for the sweep," she briefed looking around at the group, "after that you all know what you're supposed to look for. Any questions?"

Jess tuned out the banter between Sasha and her brother as she tapped Daryl's arm to let him know she was behind him and they went in for the sweep. Luckily, there were only a couple of stragglers and they were easily taken care of.

At that point, they grabbed baskets and went in search of the supplies they needed the most. Jess went with Michonne and they took turns throwing a few things into the basket. They hadn't been told to pick up anything for anyone back at the prison so they set about getting the few supplies they'd not had time to get out on their own. When they rounded a corner they both froze at the cardboard monster before they realized it really was just cardboard. Michonne dispatched it with an angry look before they continued down the aisle.

They happened to pass by the condom section and Michonne threw a small box at Jess with a smirk on her face while the cowgirl just shrugged and slipped it into the front pocket of her jeans. Never know when they might get back out to get more and she was hoping the one Michonne had given her earlier wasn't going to be enough for the time they were staying at the prison.

They continued down the aisles together for a few more minutes before a creaking and dripping sound caught Jess's attention. When she started looking around for the source of the sound a crash and a cacophony of glass shattering interrupted her. She and Michonne shared a look before heading towards it.

"What happened," Glenn yelled from across the store.

"Everything's alright," she heard Zach yell, "we're over in wine and beer!"

Jess tuned out the voices as more creaking caught her attention and stopped to listen in the middle of the aisle she and Michonne were on. Michonne halted as she noticed Jess was standing there, looking up at the ceiling.

"What," the dreadlocked woman asked.

"Somethin' ain't right," Jess confessed as she started following after Michonne, her eyes still on the tiles above.

Just as they rounded the corner to see Bob stuck under a fallen shelf, a walker fell through the ceiling, it's intestines getting caught on the broken metal beams between the ceiling and roof. Jess immediately withdrew an arrow and notched it to point at the walker.

"Yeah, uh, we should probably go now," Glenn stuttered nervously staring up at the dangling dead body.

"Time to cut 'n' run, boys," Jess hollered from behind him.

"Bob's still stuck. Get 'em out of there," Daryl snapped loudly as he moved away from the dangling walker.

At that point, all hell broke loose and walkers were raining down from the ceiling. Jess and Michonne split off from the main group, dodging the falling dead. Once the onslaught stopped, they began to pick walkers off together as they made their way back towards the spot Bob had been trapped. Bob was screaming for help and even though Jess didn't really know this guy, she didn't want to see him die either. Michonne took care of the ones that got close while Jess used her arrows to clear their path farther ahead, pulling her arrows out of the dead and replacing them in her quiver as she passed.

She rounded a corner to see Daryl on top of some boxes with his six shooter, shooting at more walkers than he had bullets for. Her quest to help Bob was momentarily forgotten as she saw the most important person left in her life in danger.

"Chonne!" Jess yelled at her friend as she pulled another an arrow out of her recent kill. Michonne understood what Jess wanted to do. After spending so much time surviving together, they'd formed a pretty close bond, one that didn't require many words.

"Go!" She yelled as she sliced through another head.

Jess pulled out her pistol from its place on her leather belt and started gunning her way through the slow walkers. Most of them had been too damaged in the fall to move very fast but it didn't mean they weren't still lethal and she wasn't going to waste any time getting to Daryl. She saw him look up as more debris started falling from the ceiling and that's when she noticed the helicopter.

"Hellfire," she said as she saw him kick one in the face then start shooting. She finally got to him and pulled one of the walkers away while shooting it in the head and easily dispatched the other ones between her and him.

"Daryl, let's go!" She she yelled as the ceiling buckled. They started making their way over to Bob, Daryl leading the way, her eyes on the falling ceiling.

A walker jumped out in front of Daryl and just as Jess raised her gun to shoot, a bullet burst through it's skull and it dropped. She heard Zach over behind a shelf to her left.

"Get Bob," he barked as he took out a few more walkers.

She put away her gun and covered Daryl with her bow as he took out the walker that was after Bob with a curb stomp and Zach rushed over to help him lift the shelf.

"Time to go," Daryl quipped, pulling Bob out from under the shelf.

Just as Bob got to his feet, a piece of a broken beam fell, hitting Jess in the head. She stumbled a few steps before she went down to her knees and dropping her bow, completely dazed from the hit. Michonne saw her go down and rushed to help her and she grabbed the woman's bow. However, the cowgirl's hunter got to her first, wrapping one arm around her waist and hauling her to her feet right as they heard a heart stopping scream from Zach.

Jess was still dazed but not out if it enough to not hear Zach's dying screams as they all watched him get bitten, then go down. Daryl had to look away when the walker bit into the young guy's neck and blood started flowing. Jess heard someone scream Zach's name before she was being hauled off.

"Go, go!" Daryl stormed as the the roof started coming down.

The group flooded outside and they were followed by a cloud of dust.

Once they were outside, they stopped amid the tents to turn back and look at the destroyed building. Most of them stood in silence at the loss of their comrade but Daryl was still running on adrenaline and fear. He didn't see what had happened to Jess, all knew was that when he looked up she was on her knees and his protective instincts went into overdrive. He found an empty cot in one of the tents and gently sat her down on it to inspect her for bites as she looked at him with a blank look. Satisfied she wasn't bitten, he inspected the cut on her head.

"Damn woman, you got the worst luck," he murmured as he used the collar of her shirt to wipe away the blood trickling through her hair and down the side of her face.

"Tell me som'in I dunno," she croaked in a voice heavy with her accent, blinking her dark eyes at the concerned blue ones in front of her.

"How many fingers am I holding up," he asked as he waved three digits in front of her face.

"Hold still, ya cuss," she grumbled glaring at him. All his waving around was making her growing headache worse. He did as she said and she answered, "three."

"Well, it don't look like ya got a concussion but we'll get Dr. S to take a look at ya when we get back," he said as he stood.

When he turned around, everyone was still looking at the store in somewhat disbelief. The loss of Zach was going to weigh heavy on them for quite some time, even for Daryl. He liked the kid more than he let on and it was a shame that he died so young. He was going to have to be the one to tell Beth because it was his failure. This new leadership role sucked.

He was just about to round up the group when he felt a hand grab his arm. Jess pulled herself up to in front of him, leaning most of her weight into him to help keep her steady. In a move that almost surprised Jess, she felt his arm go around her and he pulled her close to him in a one armed hug, burying his face in her hair.

"Zach?" She asked as she slung her arms around his neck.

"He was just a kid," Daryl whispered.

Uncaring of her bloody head and face, she pressed against him and held him tighter to her in a hug.

"I know," she admitted turning her face up to press her lips against his jaw before holding him close to her.

They stayed that way for a few seconds before she released the hug but kept an hand on him to help steady herself as they exited the tent. She was still reeling a bit from the blow to the head but was able to think clearly enough.

"Let's go home," she said loudly so the rest of the group could hear her.

They all turned to look at her oddly before heading back to the cars. Daryl gently guided her towards the SUV to ride back in but she brushed him off and walked ahead to his bike with as much dignity as she could muster. He didn't want to be away from her so he just got on and started up the bike after attaching his crossbow to the front.

Before Jess could mount, Michonne jogged over to return Jess's bow.

"You alright," Michonne asked as her friend took the bow and slung it across her body.

"I'll be fine," she assured with a nod to her friend before settling on the bike behind Daryl.

Michonne looked to Daryl for assurance and he gave her a nod to let the woman know Jess wasn't hurt too badly. The swordswoman took his word for it and returned to the SUV for the ride back.

Daryl made sure Jess was holding on tightly before he started up and lead the way back to the prison.


	2. Cut 'n' Branded

**Author's Note: First of all, I want to apologize to my readers. I hit a huge writers block and fell into a funk and completely quit writing for several months. I'm back at it again and this is one of the fics I'm continuing. Sorry it took so long but here it is. Chapter 2 is a little short as it I had panned to do a whole scene with Daryl and Jess in the room together (you'll know what I mean after you read) but everything I wrote for it seemed to not fit them at all. Maybe someday I'll come in and "flesh" out the scene some more but I hope you can use your imagination to fill in the blank. I make no promises of updates but I'll try my best to be consistent again. Thank you for reading and I hope you continue to enjoy the fic!**

* * *

The ride back felt much shorter than the ride out and before they knew it, the dark metal gates loomed before them. The caravan was let in and the occupants of the vehicles exited in silence, the gravity of what happened still weighing on them but none so heavy as Daryl.

He made sure Jess was well enough to go find the doctor on her own before he went to go talk to Beth.

"I'll find you after," he vowed before placing a kiss on her forehead away from her fresh injury, surprising Jess with his gentleness. Something was different with him now that she was back and she wanted to chalk it up to being gone so long paired to their near death experience. She had a feeling that wasn't all there was to it though.

Before he could pull away she grabbed his hand, returning the affections he was showing her.

"Ya good?" She asked, knowing what the answer would be.

He nodded as he squeezed her hand in his before letting her go.

She sought out the doctor and he'd given her some Tylenol before he cleaned up the cut on her head. He assured her the wound wasn't as bad as it seemed and head wounds tended to bleed a lot. He'd told her it wasn't anything that needed stitching and confirmed Daryl's assumption that she didn't have a concussion but she would have one killer headache in the morning.

Once the doctor was through with her she stopped by the showers to rinse off the blood and sweat from the day. She quickly pulled her hair down and took off her clothes and stood under the water for a few minutes and careful not to get her bandage on her head wet. She pulled her clothes back on without drying off and went straight to cellblock C to find Daryl, hoping he'd be done talking to Beth. Instead, she ended up stumbling upon the end of the conversation. She decided to wait before crossing the cellblock to the stairs that led to the second floor to give them their privacy. She knew this was something he had to do alone, no matter how hard it would be for him.

"Are you okay," she heard Beth ask where Jess stood just outside the cellblock. She had to strain to hear Daryl's quiet response.

"Just tired of losin' people is all."

There was several seconds of silence and some shuffling before Beth spoke again.

"I'm glad I didn't say goodbye," she mumbled like she was stating a fact, "I hate goodbyes."

"Me too."

Jess waited until she heard him walking up the stairs to his cell and waited a few minutes before she went up herself.

On her way to her cell, she passed by Michonne's, who had a map spread out before her. Jess saw the city she was pointing at and realized she was mapping out a route to Macon. The Texan was startled when the woman started speaking to her.

"We gonna talk about this?" The swordswoman asked.

"In the mornin'," Jess whispered as she walked away down to her cell, "I need some time."

She heard Michonne sigh behind her but she brushed it off. She wasn't ready to think about leaving when they'd just got back. She continued onto her cell, happy to see that Carl had brought up Argo's saddlebags but more happy to see that her guitar was right where she left it.

She picked up the instrument and sat down on the bed and began to quietly tune it. When she was done, she played a few chords to make sure it was hitting the right notes then started in on Carrying Your Love With Me by George Strait, which had been one of Erin's favorites. One that she thought fit for her now.

After the first verse, Daryl appeared at her door, pushing aside the curtain to watch her. She looked up at him as she sang. Her voice always drew him to her, just like it had when they'd first met. Her eyes closed to soak up the sound when she heard a voice float up in harmony from the first floor during the chorus. Beth knew this song.

The song came to an end and the echoes of the final note bounced around the walls for several seconds, putting a perfect end to the moment she was trying to create. She watched as Daryl stood, eyes closed, for several seconds before coming in to sit beside her on her bed. She set the guitar against the wall at the head of her bed and glanced over at the man beside her, waiting for him to speak first.

"George Strait," he asked, grinning as he looked down at his boots.

"Yeah, one of Erin's favorites." She responded seriously.

He changed the subject to her well being as he was still worried about the knock she'd taken to the head.

"What'd the doc say," he questioned looking at the butterfly bandages close to her hairline.

"He says I'm good, gonna have a headache but no concussion."

"Good," he affirmed with a nod.

The silence stretched as they sat together and when Jess finally got tired of waiting for him to say more, she shifted her body back into the bed and laid down with a large, content sigh. It had been weeks since she'd laid in a real bed and she caught Daryl watching her with understanding. He'd been in her shoes before and knew how good a bed could feel after a long time without one. She saw him chew on his lip before he broke the silence.

"Ya goin' to Macon?" He asked in what was almost a whisper like he really didn't want to know the answer.

Jess regarded him with a defeated look.

"Chonne seems ta thank it's where tha Gov'ner is," she said flatly, not really answering his question.

"You think that's a good idea," he pressed. He had a feeling she didn't agree with her friend about making the trip. He'd felt it earlier before they'd gone to the Big Spot.

"No, I thank it's a terrible idea but I know Chonne's hell bent on it 'n' I reckon I cain't let 'er go out there 'lone in that mess," she admitted quietly so Michonne couldn't hear her from her cell a few doors down.

Daryl slid up the bed to look down at her with a pleading look, something she'd never seen before in him. He leaned over her, his arm over her body on the bed to help support his weight. This position reminded her of their first kiss and her breath quickened at the memory of how passionate it had been.

"Would ya stay if I asked?"

Jess's eyes broke from his to roam down his body suggestively.

"Maybe," she purred as her hand slid up his arm to rest in his hair at the nape of his neck, "depends on how persuasive ya can be."

He chose not to say anything as he leaned forward. Jess closed her eyes expecting a kiss but had to bite back a whimper and flinching away from him as she felt her shirt move away from her neck and his teeth graze the skin at her collarbone. At that point she couldn't help how her body went to war against itself. She'd flinch away and her breath would hitch every time his mouth moved on her followed by forcing herself to pull him closer. Regular touches and kisses were fine with her, but when it came to more, Jess was still afraid. It didn't mean she wasn't enjoying the moment though.

"I could make you stay," he ran his tongue over the spot his teeth grazed, loving the taste of her clean skin, "for as long as I want." Daryl could feel Jess fighting her instinct to get away but he could also see that she was also enjoying it. Her body was slightly tense but after her a few moments she arched her back to him and her hands found their way to his hair.

"Screw ya, Daryl Dixon," she teased between her sharp breaths.

"Sounds good to me," he smirked as he leaned away from her. He looked down to see that was pouting, actually sad that he'd stopped touching her. He stood and motioned for her to follow him. "Come with me."

Jess's hands were shaking slightly and she shoved them in the pockets of her jeans to hide them as she followed him out of her cell. She smirked as she felt the small box of condoms from the Big Spot she'd forgotten about. He held up a hand for her to wait before he walked quickly down to his room and disappeared for a few seconds. When he reappeared, she saw him slipping a key into one of his pockets. He smirked down at her as he nodded for her to follow him again and they quickly made their way around the catwalk and down the stairs.

As Jess descended, she noticed Hershel and Rick having a quiet conversation as the farmer bottle fed his daughter. Jess waved at them as Daryl turned a one eighty at the bottom of the stairs to go back out towards the showers. She saw Herschel smile an all knowing smile before Daryl lead them out of the cellblock and down a hall. They wound through the prison a bit before he stopped in front of a door to pull the key out of his pocket and unlock it.

As soon as the key was back in his pocket, he grabbed Jess and pulled her into the room with him, pushing the metal door shut behind him. He'd prepared this room especially for the two of them just after the last time Jess left out with Michonne.

When Daryl first realized that he'd had feelings for the cowgirl, he'd promised himself, and her, that he'd take things slow with her. Jess had been through so much and he didn't want her to feel pressured into anything so he'd taken his time in getting her used to him and his touch. When she'd left the last time, he could tell that it'd been long enough. She may a have been still be a little afraid but she wanted him. Now that he had her here with him, even if it was just for tonight, he wasn't going to let the opportunity pass him by.

* * *

Jess laid on top of the mattress on the floor of the small, secluded cell with Daryl with her arm over her eyes and breathing hard as she came down from her high. It'd been so long since she'd felt like she was feeling at that moment. As a matter of fact, she couldn't remember a time that she'd felt this way after having sex. The emotions that he made her feel during and after what they'd just done scared her beyond belief.

Daryl had been caring, taking things slow until she was comfortable with him and it made her realize how much she really loved him. However, when Jess got passed her demons, things had been fast and intense. Once it was over, everything came crashing down on her at once and made her feel confused.

Jess bit her lip as she felt Daryl's hand gently pull her arm away from her face so he could see her. He could tell something was off with her.

"Jess," he asked as he saw that she was crying. There were so many thoughts and emotions running through her exhausted state she couldn't hold them back anymore and they'd manifested into silent tears. She scoffed as she turned on her side to put her back to him.

"I'm fine," she claimed angrily at herself for crying after sex. Not like it was her first time but it had been a long time and she'd been through a lot.

"I know," he said simply. He knew she wasn't fine but she would be. He wanted to say and do more but he didn't know what so he settled with leaning over to her to kiss her shoulder to let her know he was there and not going anywhere before turning onto his back to sleep.

"Get some sleep, Jess. Been a long day," he encouraged as he settled into the mattress. He wanted to do more for her but he knew Jess well enough now that she needed some space to work through whatever was going on. She would come to him if she needed him. She always did.

"Daryl," she asked in her long Texas drawl.

"Hmm," he responded.

Before he knew it, she was curled up against him, her head on his shoulder and one leg and arm tossed over his body. They usually weren't the type to cuddle but he could tell Jess needed it. To be honest, he actually liked it. She was seeking comfort from him and he was glad to give it. He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer to his body as she spoke.

"Thanks," she said in almost a whisper.

He knew there was more to her thanks but he accepted it regardless. Daryl just hummed again as he listened to her breathing until she fell asleep.

* * *

Daryl was the first to wake the next morning and it took a few moments for the night before to come back to him. When it did, he couldn't help but smile at what he and Jess had done. As he lay on his back, he turned his head to watch her as she slept. She was curled up on her side close to him sleeping peacefully with her hand stretched out to rest on his chest over his heart.

He wasn't quite ready to wake her up because she looked so content so he let his eyes roam down her naked body to see the marks and bruises he'd left on her last night. Part of him felt proud, like he'd marked her as his. Not that she didn't leave a few marks on him as well as he could feel the sting of what were probably claw marks down his back.

His smile was replaced with his usual blank stare when she started to stir next to him, not knowing what to expect from her because of her reaction after their lovemaking last night. He continued to watch as she stretched out like a cat would, slow and blissful. Her eyes opened when her arms met resistance in front of her, suddenly remembering she was sharing the bed. He saw recognition as her eyes met his and one corner of her lips quirked up in a knowing smile and he couldn't help returning it.

"Mornin'," she croaked as she let her hand return to lay on his chest while she also watched him carefully for a reaction.

"Mornin'," he answered, still waiting as he was unsure of what to say or do. Even though Daryl and Jess slept in the same bed many times, this time was different because they'd finally taken the next step after many months. She smiled when she looked down to see the dark marks on her skin underneath the scars on her hips.

"I feel like I done been cut from tha herd 'n' branded," she mumbled, running her fingers over the bruises reverently.

"Sor-"

"If ya say yer sorry, I'm gonna beat ya," she threatened as her eyes shot back to his with a glare, "It was amazin'."

He smiled that proud smile again knowing that she meant that he was amazing and she smacked him hard on his stomach.

"No need ta get all smug, ya big galoot. Ya ain't tha only one ridin' high this mornin'."

"Ain't smug. Just glad. Been waitin' a long time to get with ya and it was damn good," he admitted as he sat up to lean over her, "and I wanna do it again," he mumbled as he pressed his lips to hers, relieved she seemed to be in a better state of mind this morning. She didn't even flinch when he touched her now.

She let out a satisfied hum from the back of her throat as he kissed her lazily. After a few moments, she pressed gently on his chest and he pulled away from her with a questioning look, fingers brushing the dark bruises on her collarbone.

"As much as I wanna lay in bed 'n' screw 'round all day, someone's bound ta come huntin' fer us soon 'n' we've both got stuff ta take care'a," she said with a sigh as she sat up.

Daryl watched as she started looking around for her clothes, wanting to take in the sight of her as long as he could because who knew when he'd get to see her like this again. He watched her scars ripple over her muscles as she stood and started getting dressed.

"Like what ya see," she purred pulling her tank top over her head and pulling her hair out from under it.

"Every bit," he answered seriously as he also started getting dressed.

Jess returned the favor, watching his every move just like he'd done to her.

"Same here, Dixon," she drawled as he pulled his sleeveless shirt back over his head making his hair messier than it already was. She smiled as she approached him and ran her fingers through it slowly, helping the dark locks fall back into some sort of order.

"Cain't have ya goin' out there lookin' like ya jus' had a nice romp," she said with a sly tone.

"Can't help the truth," he responded, pulling her flush against him, his fingers also finding her thick strands of hair and he wrapped them around his fist.

He reveled in the fact she didn't have any negative reaction to his touch. She just tried to hide her smile as she rolled her eyes.

"Whatever," she said as she gave him a quick kiss, "we aught ta get goin'," she added as she tried to pull away from him. He held tight to her and waited for her to look up into his eyes.

"You gonna leave," he asked quietly.

"Daryl, ya know I cain't just stay here while my parents may still be out there 'n' I cain't let Michonne go 'lone. We know tha risks 'n' you 'n' I both got responsibilities," she confided with conviction, her eyes never leaving his.

"Don't mean I don't worry about ya," he stated seriously.

"I worry 'bout ya too, Daryl. Everyday. As much as I care 'bout ya, we got responsibilities 'n' we gotta take care'a this place."

"I know, Jess," he grumbled, "I just don't think it's a good idea you go."

"Well, I don't neither. If I had my ruthers I'd stay here in bed with ya all day but I ain't 'bout ta let Chonne go by herself. We both been alone out there long 'nough," she conceded as she pulled his face to hers for one more kiss, "I need ta get goin'. Gotta find tha crazy woman 'fore she runs off without me."

He held her for a few more moments than she anticipated before releasing her.

"Be careful," he warned pushing her towards the door.

"Looks like ya've taken a likin' ta me, peach," she taunted as she pulled the door open, trying to make light of the fact that this might be the last time they see each other for another several weeks. She wanted their parting to end on a fun, good note.

Daryl slapped her ass hard as she stepped out into the hall and she turned to glare at him.

"Naw, just your sweet little kill stealing ass," he raised his eyebrows as he looked down at it.

"Jus' see if ya getta piece'a it anytime soon," she grumbled before stomping off, long hair swaying around the ass he had just been talking about.

She loved having the last word and he let her have it as he watched her disappear around the corner. It was better that he let her go on ahead so he wasn't tempted to watch her leave with Michonne today because he knew that they would. Michonne would plead her case to the cowgirl and Jess would go along with whatever her friend wanted because that's the kind of person Jess was. He wished more than anything that they would stay for a little while longer. Last night was going to have to do them both for a long time.


	3. Creek Rising

**Author's Note: **I was in a hurry to post this so please forgive any mistakes and feel free to let me know about it. Reviews are always welcome! Enjoy!

* * *

Jess was silent as she finished saddling Argo next to Michonne. They're conversation about leaving hadn't been a long one. Michonne was adamant about leaving, even if they still hadn't agreed on a destination. Michonne wanted to go check out Macon but Jess was putting her foot down about how dangerous such a big town could be for just the two of them. After their conversation, Jess was almost convinced that her friend was rushing their departure because she was afraid if they stayed too long, Jess wouldn't leave and Michonne didn't want to be out there alone anymore. The swordswoman felt like everyone else had just forgotten about the Governor, what he did, and were just moving on when she still wasn't ready to let it go. To let him go on living after what he'd done to them and Andrea.

On way out to the stable, Jess had run into Carol, who was making breakfast and decided to speak to her.

"You heading out?" Carol asked as Jess stopped to talk while she finished braiding her hair over her shoulder.

"Yeah, we wanna get an early start," she said while her fingers moved swiftly through her her locks in a messy fishtail braid.

"Be careful out there and come back soon. Daryl gets grumpy if you're gone too long," Carol mentioned casually.

"Keep an eye on 'im, will ya? He's been actin' a little odd lately," Jess said with her eyebrows drawn together.

"Odd?"

"Yeah, he's been a li'l' more," she paused for the right word, "concerned lately."

"It's just because he cares about you, Jess. Can't fault him for that. It's part of being with someone like you two are," Carol answered with a pause in her cooking to look at her friend.

"It's why I'm askin' ya ta watch out fer 'im like ya always have," she smiled at her friend.

Carol nodded with a small smile as she resumed her task.

"I will," she promised as Jess started to leave, "just come back soon."

"Good Lord willin 'n' tha creek don't rise," the cowgirl quipped with a wave as she jogged to catch up with Michonne.

Once she was done saddling Argo, Jess doned the last of her weapons and followed Michonne out of the pen while leading Argo. She kept quiet as Rick and Carl passed in front of them, heading out to start their farming.

"You two be careful out there," Rick cautioned as he kept walking.

"Always are," Michonne replied simply as Jess nodded at the father and son.

Jess tuned out the conversation as she and Michonne kept walking to the gate. Of all the times she'd come and gone from the prison, this made her feel the worst by far. Last night with Daryl had been fast and wild but it had meant a lot to her emotionally. It was her emotions that would get her into trouble if she didn't keep a tight lid on them.

Once they reached the entrance they both mounted and waited for Maggie to open the gate for them. Jess sat rigid in the saddle and Michonne noticed.

"Don't let me be the reason you don't stay," Michonne said as Maggie rolled open the gate, "I was fine on my own before and I'll be fine now."

"I gotta promise ta keep 'n' I know how much it sucks ta be 'lone out there," she revealed as the started a slow trot out of the gate.

The riding pair hadn't made it but a few hundred yards before muffled gunfire floated to them from the prison. They both turned their horses around after sharing a look and kicked their horses back to the gates. They couldn't leave if there was something they could do to help. Jess let out a whistle for someone to open the gates again and glanced nervously at the attention the commotion had brought upon them from the walkers.

The gates opened slowly and they rushed in, four walkers flowing in behind them before Carl could get the gate closed. Jess didn't have much time to wonder why Maggie wasn't the one opening the gates as Michonne decided to dismount to take care two that had come after her as Jess noticed she was having trouble dealing with them. However, she had missed seeing the other two walkers enter the gate and yelled as she felt her head jerk back, almost pulling her out of her saddle.

She tried to turn her head but couldn't because one of the two walkers had managed to grab her long braid while the other was trying to bite into her leather covered leg. There was no hesitation when she pulled out her machete and swung it behind her to cut her braid off. Her blade was sharp and it only took one hard swing to cut it off to get herself free. The zombie fell backward with a foot of hair while Jess immediately stabbed through the head of the one at her leg. Just as she was pulling the blade back out of the walker's head, a shot rang out close to her. She spared a glance over at Michonne who was on the ground and kicked a walker over her prone body, yelling out in pain.

"I got her! Go," Maggie barked as the gate opened, sending a bullet in the brain of the walker that still had Jess's braid in its hand.

Jess knew Maggie was adept at dealing with walkers and could take care of Michonne so with a hard kick, Argo turned and shot off towards the inner gates of the yard at a dead run. Jess's hair unwound from its cut braid and flew wildly behind her as she yelled to someone to open the inner gate.

"Open up," she yelled and two young girls came running to open the gate for her. She saw people flooding out of a door to a hall that connected the cellblocks and continued on as soon as the gate was opened. When she arrived at the entrance past the yard where people were running out of, she jumped off Argo before he was even at a complete stop.

"What's going on," She asked one of the people running out of the door.

"Walkers in cellblock D!" Someone yelled as they passed her.

There was no time for Jess to process what was going on, she just reacted on instinct to protect the prison. She pulled her bow from around her, grabbed an arrow out of the quiver, and held it parallel with the bow in her left hand as she entered still holding her machete in her right. She needed to be ready for anything.

Most of the people had been cleared out and there were bodies littering the floor, bodies of people that had been alive yesterday. Jess saw Sasha curbstomp a walker as she entered the cellblock and heard someone call out that the first floor was clear from across the room. Immediately Jess started up the stairs after sheathing her machete to help clear the second floor and noticed Daryl coming up the stairs at the other end of the cellblock to do the same.

Their eyes met briefly as they reached the top at the same time and continued on to check the cells. Jess saw the question in his eyes but they had a job to do so she waited for him to pass as he took the right and she took the left. Just as she turned to look in a cell, Glenn came stumbling out of one with walker.

"Down," Daryl yelled. Both Daryl and Jess let their arrows fly and the walker fell with two arrows in its head. She let Daryl and Rick go ahead of her and she raised an eyebrow in question at Daryl's response to who she'd just saved Glenn from.

"Ah, it was Patrick," she heard Daryl say in the sudden silence, "all of 'em."

Jess and Glenn made their way down the rest of the cellblock carefully checking each cell while Daryl and Rick took care of the last few that were to the right of the entry walkway from the stairs. Jess and Glenn's sweep of the cells on the second floor came up empty so Glenn quickly made his way back towards the stairs while she moved much slower, surveying the damage on the floor below.

Daryl startled her as he suddenly pushed aside the curtain to the cell just in front of her and made his way back down the row toward Rick. She followed closely, watching Rick just as carefully as Daryl was, unsure if the man could handle what needed to be done. When Rick opened up his knife and Daryl moved to reload his crossbow from dispatching a walker in a cell, Jess decided that she would go back downstairs to doublecheck the dead ones to make sure there was no danger of any of them coming back.

She put her bow across her back before switching back to the machete. She tried not to get worked up about what had caused this incident and she really wanted to talk to Daryl about it but there was still work to be done. There was a dead one on the catwalk that didn't have a head wound but was dead so she took care of that one on the way by Daryl and headed down the stairs.

After she was sure none of them would come back, she saw Dr. S and Herschel head up the stairs and she followed them back up. If they were called in, something strange must be happening.

When they reached the top, they all went into a cell that had a recently double dead walker she decided to hang back and listen. Bob came up beside her as they started talking about how Patrick had died and the conversation went from bad to worse with a flu strain to their livestock being infected.

"Bug's like to run through close quarters," Bob added, "doesn't get any closer than this."

Jess glanced up at Daryl from the dead body on the floor and found his eyes on her. It could get closer. They were as close as any two human beings could be last night and he'd shook Patrick's hand yesterday. She might be infected because of him.

"All of us in here. We've all been exposed," Herschel said.

She saw Daryl's eyes flash from anger to nervousness in a span of a second before he stepped out of the room. He grabbed Jess by the arm to pull her away from the others.

"I thought you were leavin'," he stated angrily glancing at her freshly cut hair. He wasn't mad at her for coming back, he was mad at himself to possibly exposing her but the way he'd said it made Jess believe she was the cause of his anger. She still didn't understand him most of the time.

"We heard shots from inside. Would ya'a been able ta keep ridin'," she questioned just as haughtily as she self consciously pulled her hair back to the nape of her neck with an extra rubber band she had in her pocket.

Daryl looked down at his feet as he chewed the inside of his lip nervously, he wanted to explain to her that he didn't blame her for coming back. His anger was at himself for putting her at risk but before he could find the words, she changed the subject.

"I need ta go take care'a Argo, I'll be back in a few ta help clean up," she stated as she turned away from him.

"We got this. Meet me in tha library when yer done," he ordered gruffly as he turned back to the group that was still in the cell.

Jess watched Daryl's back disappear and the gravity of what was going on hit her. Something was killing the residents of the prison. Something she couldn't use her bow against. Being a rancher had taught Jess many things but one one of them was once an infection hit the herd, it didn't take long to spread to the others. The only thing they could do now was isolate those that had come into contact with the infected in the past couple of days but that could be everyone in the prison. Jess was pulled from her dark thoughts when she heard footsteps behind her as she headed for the stairs. She stopped and turned to see Rick not far behind her.

"Gotta go tell Carl," Rick mumbled as he passed her.

"Ya alright," she asked as they descended the stairs together.

"Patrick was Carl's friend," Rick answered absently after a few moments of silence on their trek outside.

"He's strong. He can handle it," she assured as they emerged from the building. Jess stopped as Argo walked up to her from where she'd left him. She took his reins, even though she didn't need to, and followed Rick through the concrete yard.

Jess walked passed Rick and Carl as they hugged to check on her friend that she'd left up to Maggie to rescue.

"Ya okay" Jess asked Michonne, stopping a few feet away from her supported friend.

"I was coming back, I fell," Michonne announced, defending Carl's involvement. Jess could hear the self loathing in her voice for because of it, "they came out and helped me."

"You alright?" Rick asked and Michonne just nodded.

"I'll take care'a Flame," Jess declared to the swordswoman as she lead Argo away.

She heard Maggie ask what happened and Rick began to explain the situation as she headed out to the stable. She quickly unsaddled the horses and tossed her riding chaps and saddle bags into the stable. Since she'd been exposed there was no way she was going back in the cellblock with Judith so she would stay in the stable until things settled down. With all that was going on inside the prison, the stable was the safest place in the prison. It was set apart from the pin with the pigs in case they were the cause of the flu going around and besides Jess no one came out there except Michonne, Daryl, and Rick.

As soon as she was done with the horses, Jess quickly made her way to the library and was a little startled to see the council members sitting around the table. She froze in the doorway as they all looked up at her.

"Come in, Jess. You may have some input here," Herschel greeted as he waved her into the meeting.

She carefully made her way through the room and chose to stand behind Daryl and lean against the wall away from the circle. She felt out of place and sitting amongst them would just make her feel even more odd.

"Patrick was fine yesterday," Carol started, "and he died overnight. Two people, died that quick? We'll have to separate everyone that's been exposed."

Jess saw Daryl shifting his hands nervously from his backwards perch on the chair.

"That's everyone in that cellblock. That's all of us," he said softly, "maybe more."

"We know that this sickness can be lethal," Herschel explained, "and Miss Davis is right, we don't know how easily it spreads. Is anyone else showing symptoms that we know of?"

"Can't just wait and see," Carol said defensively, "there's children. It isn't just the illness, people die and they become a threat."

"There ain't no tellin' who those others were in contact with yesterday. Every one a us could already be infected," Jess advised. "I saw thangs like this back in Texas with cattle, once it gets started there ain't much ya can do but separate the sick ones, get 'em treated, 'n' keep an eye out fer everyone else."

"We need a place for them to go. They can't stay in D. We can't risk going in there to clean it up," Herschel said.

"We can use cellblock A," Carol offered.

"Death row?" Glenn asked. "Not sure that's much of an upgrade."

"It's clean. That's an upgrade," Daryl added helpfully. "Think that'll work for Dr. S?"

"I'll help Caleb get it set up," Herschel said.

The meeting was suddenly ground to a halt when a cough sounded from the hallway. They all shared a nervous look as they stood. Daryl turned around to pick up his crossbow and fixed her with a look that she couldn't quite make out. It was either worry, fear, or anger or maybe even a mixture of the three. She grabbed the hem of his shirt to stop him since she couldn't touch him to get his attention.

"Ya feelin' okay," she asked with an expression and voice full of worry.

"I'm good, you?" He answered, looking her over to see if he could see any symptoms.

"Fit as a fiddle," she replied before she nodded towards the door so they could see what was going on.

Daryl stepped out of the room to see what was going on while Jess just leaned back against the door frame with her hands in the pockets of her jeans, still half in the room. She watched the scene unfold before her with a very heavy heart. She couldn't imagine if it were her and Daryl in that situation.

When Sasha lead Karen and Tyreese by the door, Daryl used the butt of his crossbow to push Jess farther into the room and he covered his face with his free hand on instinct. Jess did as she was directed and stepped back from the sick woman but was out the door as soon as they were by.

"We'll have to call another meeting later," Herschel explained to the remaining people.

"Alright. I'll get to burying the dead ones," Daryl said slinging his crossbow up on his shoulder.

"I'll help," Jess offered from behind him. The hunter glanced over at her as Herschel spoke.

"You two wear gloves and a mask," Herschel added before walking away.

Daryl let out a hum in acknowledgement as he started down the hall with Jess hot on his heels and she nearly ran into him when he stopped by Carol. That's when Jess noticed the look on Carol's face. It wasn't fear, it was something she'd never seen from the older woman before.

"You alright?" Daryl asked, beating Jess to the question.

"Worried about Lizzy and Mika. They were around Patrick," she said looking at her friend.

"We all were," Daryl mumbled remembering his handshake with the kid the day before, "Karen and David will be separated. Til they feel better."

"You're right. You okay?" Carol asked looking between Daryl and Jess.

The cowgirl watched as Daryl nodded and chewed his lips.

"Mmm hum. Gotta be," he said before walking away.

Jess hung back for a second to talk to her friend. She hadn't been able to see her as much since she returned but she could tell that the woman had a lot on her mind. They all did. The situation they faced was nothing short of terrible.

"Ya need anythin', let me know. I'll be 'round," Jess assured, wishing she could hug her friend.

"Jess, what happened to your hair?" The older woman asked, knowing the meaning of it's length. She was also looking to deflect the conversation away from herself.

"Walker grabbed it 'n' I had to cut it ta get away," she acknowledged with a shrug.

"I'm sorry, Jess," she said, also wishing she could hug the girl.

"It's alright. I was thinkin' it was 'bout time fer a change anyway," she revealed with a fond smile while reaching back to pull the shoulder blade length hair around to look at. She lost a foot but it was still long, she noticed. She'd have to get Carol to straighten the uneven ends whenever things settled down.

Jess then thought of what her hair meant to her before compared to now. Erin's death had been tragic and Jess had kept her long hair even after the world went to hell as a reminder of everything she'd had before. It was time to start her new life here while fondly remembering her past yet not let it weigh her down. Jess took the loss of her hair as a step in that direction.

Carol nodded before Jess turned to follow Daryl out to the graveyard.


	4. Madder Than A Wet Hen

The bodies had already started coming out, wrapped in sheets by the time Jess had caught back up with Daryl. She'd dropped by outside of cellblock C and found Carl who was watching the goings on and asked him to bring out her bag and guitar from her cell. The kid was quick and he tossed her bag from a few feet away and held the guitar out by the neck so she could take it from him.

"Thanks. How's Michonne?" Jess asked the young man.

"She's mad and got a sprained ankle," he said with a shrug.

"Tell 'er I said she should be glad it wuddn't worse 'n' ta stay in cellblock C fer now. We'll talk later," she paused, "'n' Carl, thanks fer helpin' us. I know yer dad's been tryin' ta keep ya from havin' ta do thangs like that."

He just shrugged.

"I did what I had to do."

Jess nodded grimly at the boy before heading out to the graveyard.

Daryl was standing out there waiting for her with two shovels, eyes on the fences, as she came up behind him. She dug down into her bag and pulled out two bandanas, one black and white and the other blue and white, and tossed the black one at him. He caught it easily and pulled a pair of gloves from his back pocket to toss to her. She then stuffed them in her own back pocket so she could pull off her flannel shirt to be left in her tank top. The Georgia heat wasn't as hot as the Texas sun but the humidity more than made up for it and Jess wasn't about to sweat through her best shirt.

Daryl caught himself staring at the bruises he'd left on her neck the night before as they tied on their bandanas. Jess felt her cheeks flush as she noticed where he was looking and she quickly looked away from him before her mind began to wander too far into the gutter. She set her bow, quiver, and machete next to the grave she was about to start while Daryl simply leaned his crossbow against an extra shovel he'd left in the dirt closeby. She was also a little embarrassed that she'd forgotten about the marks he'd left. Good thing they were the only two out there because she already felt like a reckless teenager and didn't need the curious stares to add on top of the embarrassment.

Their eyes met briefly in understanding as they pulled on their gloves and then they got to work digging, each starting on a grave. They had work to do. Now wasn't the time to bring up the night before. Jess listened to their joined heavy breathing as they worked, trying not to focus on what she was really doing or it would have gotten to her. Digging graves brought Erin's death to the surface all over again. His voice broke their silence.

"So what happened to it?" He asked between shovels while nodding towards her.

"Tha hair? Walker nabbed it while we's waitin' fer tha gate ta open. Didn't have time ta deal with it so I jus' cut it," she panted with heavy breaths, "like tha new look?"

"Yep, gonna kinda miss it though," he grunted as he threw a shovel full of dirt on the growing pile. He took a pause to watch her for a few moments, leaning heavily on the shovel, remembering how it felt as her extremely long hair brushed over him the night before. Despite the fact of how her hair had made him feel, he really did like her new haircut; it was still long and the cut ends waved in a bunch from her ponytail around her shoulder blades. Not that he was a man that put much stock in the looks of a person, but he really liked it, especially when it looked wild just after she'd cut it. He liked it almost as much as the brands he'd left on her neck and shoulders.

Jess's banter about her hair and her willingness to show her skin despite her scars and bruises was a nice distraction from what he was having to do. Just like he'd told Beth the day before, he was tired of losing people and digging graves was exhausting in itself.

After they were each just about finished digging their first grave Jess saw Rick approaching them. She had gotten to know the ex-cop through the time spent out in the field and stable but Daryl had known the man since the turn. Jess knew him well enough to know there was something on Rick's mind and Daryl was the one that needed to hear it. She didn't want to impose so she decided to take a break to give them a few minutes. Jess tossed her shovel a few feet away as she climbed out of the large hole she'd dug. She stopped close to where Daryl was digging to pull her shirt back on quickly to hide her scars and hickies and pick up her weapons.

"I'll give you two a minute," she said nodding at the approaching farmer.

"Alright," he conceded, pausing to look up at her with tired eyes. She held his gaze for a few more moments looking for something more useful to say to him but not able to find the words. She left the two alone and went to the stable to set up her new bed while her thoughts turned to what had happened that morning.

Jess was secretly terrified. She could face walkers, people, and even animals with relative ease but an invisible threat such as a killer flu was totally different. There wasn't anything she could do about a sickness going around and she had a strong feeling that this was just the beginning. The thought of having to sit by and watch any of them die like that was worse than knowing what they would become when they did. There was no control when it came to illness, especially not in a world where medication and treatment were scarce. She froze in the middle of throwing out another blanket over the pile of hay at where her train of thought lead her to next. Just imagining having to watch Daryl slowly die like that, to see the strongest man she knew become so weak, to die from something so simple. To watch as blood poured from his ice blue eyes like bloody tears as his breath left his body.

She was pushed away from her disturbing thoughts as Maggie yelled for Rick and Daryl in a panic. She stuck her head out over the short door and heard the sound of the chain link being stressed before she saw the large pile of walkers pushing at it.

"Well if it ain't one thang it's 'nother," she grumbled as she ducked back into the stable to grab her shorter tactical knife and stick it still in its sheath through her belt at her back. She was quick on Daryl's heels as they ran between the security fences, grabbing a sharpened stick that used to have a shovel on the end of it as she passed the line of tools. As much as she liked to use her own weapons, the ones they'd made and left at the fence were better for cleaning the fence lines of walkers.

She worked quickly down at the far end of the line of people, working her way from the right side of the walker line in, thrusting the sharp end through the heads of anything she could. She saw, out of the corner of her eye, Maggie fall at the other end of the line and Glenn go to help her.

"Don't," she barked as she went back to work, "we're suppose to stay away from each other."

Jess paused to glance at Daryl who continued to work furiously at killing the walkers and her heart dropped a little as her emotions grabbed her again. She shook her head to clear her mind and turned to try and clear out some of the dead when blood on the inside of the fence caught her eye. She looked closer and saw they were rats with their heads chewed off.

"What tha hellfire," she cursed as she knelt to inspect them. Someone had stuck them through the fence to feed the walkers. Sasha heard Jess's exclamation and came to see what had caused the Texan to curse. When the woman realized what they had found she called out to the others.

"Are you seeing this?" She asked in disbelief, "is someone feeding these things?"

"Looks it," Jess confirmed as she stood to share a look with the woman. Before more thought could be put into it, the more pressing matter at hand made itself known again.

"Heads up!"

Jess looked down to see the fence bending dangerously in with the weight of walkers and she sprung to action, throwing her weight into trying to hold it up with the others. Her heart was racing in her chest as she tried not to look or get too close to the snarling teeth just a few inches from her. If the fence gave in right then, they would all be trapped beneath it and the walkers would have access to the prison. Despite her fear of the prison being breached, she wasn't going to move, she couldn't stand by and watch it happen and if the frustrated screams to her left were any indication, they weren't either. Until Daryl realized their efforts were futile.

"Everybody back! Come on back now!" Daryl yelled at his friends.

Jess was a little slower than the rest as she was reluctant to give in and when she did finally back up, she realized that one of the walkers had grabbed hold of the sleeve of her shirt through the fence. Before she could take care of it, she felt a strong hand around her arm, pulling her back with more strength than was necessary. She heard the flannel tear and her sleeve was ripped free of the rest of the top as she fell back onto the ground with a grunt. Without touching her skin, Daryl reached down and pulled her up by her shirt at her shoulder, giving her a look that she deemed to be anger.

"Do as I say, when I say," he snarled before turning his attention back to the fence, mind racing on what to do.

Jess angrily jerked away from him, furious that he would talk to her like that. She wasn't some helpless damsel that couldn't take care of herself. Maybe she should have done what he said when he said it but the way he talked to her angered her.

"That fence keeps bending in like that those walkers are coming over it," Sasha said frantically.

There were a few seconds of silence as everyone was trying to think of a plan and to everyone's surprise, Rick was the one to come up with one.

"Daryl get the truck. I know what to do," he informed.

Jess stayed and silently watched as Rick's plan unfolded. He used the pigs to draw away the walkers from the fence and she, Sasha, and Glenn started reinforcing the dangerously leaning barrier.

Once the danger had passed and her nerves had settled, she realized she was still mad at Daryl. The way he had talked to her back at the fence had struck a wrong chord with her. He talked down to her and basically made her feel like she was a child. Like she didn't know what she was doing. In light of this and her anger, Jess decided to disappear while Daryl went to park the Jeep and unhook the trailer. She needed to talk to Michonne and find out what they were going to do next anyway.

Jess made a stealthy retreat to the common area of cellblock C, stopping by the stable to pull on a blue and green checkered button up shirt and tossing the old one in her bag for some other use later, before entering the building where Carol and Carl were having a conversation. She didn't get to hear what they were talking about as the older woman was leaving while Jess was arriving. She was a little disturbed how Carol completely ignored her as they passed each other, her head down and expression hard. It was a face that Jess recognized as grim determination. Assuming that Carol just needed some time, she let the woman leave without speaking or acknowledging her. She took a few steps into the room, decided not to descend the few stairs down into the area because she was afraid of bringing anything she might have picked up into where Judith was staying.

Carl was still on the ground fixing a grave marker for Patrick when she spoke.

"Hey Carl. Michonne 'round?"

Carl stood and nodded.

"Ya mind grabbin' 'er fer me? Need ta talk ta 'er 'n' I don't wanna go in there," she paused and shifted her eyes, "jus' in case."

"Yeah. Everything okay out there?" He asked curiously. Jess thought about her answer carefully before she gave it.

"Got a bit hairy with tha walkers at tha fence but we got it worked out," she explained. Carl nodded as he went to go get Michonne for her.

Jess waited patiently at the top of the few stairs by the door and let her hair out of the pony tail to try and braid it to keep her hands busy. There was no telling if she'd been infected yet or if she was a carrier of the infection so the less time she spent there and the less she touched the better.

It didn't take long before Michonne limped into the room, a scowl on her face. Jess finally gave up on trying to braid the too short hair as she watched Michonne take a seat at one of the round tables while she pulled her hair back to the nape of her neck and put the band back around it.

"How's tha foot?" Jess asked, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Not as bad as I thought. It'll heal fast," she paused as she pulled it up to rest on the seat next to hers to get it elevated, "they should have just left my dumb ass to die out there," she said angrily.

"Chonne, stuff happens 'n' ya ain't perfect. No one is, so ya gotta suck it up 'n' move on. It's goin' ta hell in a handbasket out there 'n' we need ya firin' on all cylinders," Jess reprimanded forcefully. She was still pretty upset with everything that was coming to light and Daryl hadn't made things any better by snapping at her earlier. She really didn't need to deal with Michonne feeling sorry for herself on top of everything else. She could be there for her friend emotionally after they got this flu situation under control. Michonne was silent for several seconds before sitting up a little straighter and looking up at her friend across the room.

"What's going on out there," she asked, pushing aside her self loathing to get down to business.

"We're slowly gettin' tha dead burried. This infection is like tha flu but it acts fast, like a few hours fast, 'n' it's lethal. Walkers almost took down tha fence by tha guard tower but Rick came up with a plan ta get 'em away long 'nough ta get tha fence shored up," she explained, bringing Michonne up to speed on the situation.

"Rick," Michonne asked genuinely surprised.

"Yeah, we thank tha sickness may a come from tha pigs so he used them as bait ta lure tha walkers away from tha fence. Beginnin' ta understand why he used ta lead this outfit," she concluded.

"Yeah," Michonne agreed, knowing of Rick's potential to lead. "So what now?"

"Fer ya 'n' me? I thank we need ta hang 'round, despite tha risk. I may'a been exposed anyway so if we leave now I could still get sick 'n' just end up dyin' out there. 'Sides, as long as I'm standin', I wanna be a use 'round here. I ain't helpin' nobody out there if I get sick. Plus ya got a bum foot," she reasoned with a wave in the direction of the fences outside.

"You sure?" Michonne asked. "You may not be infected yet and you could ride out and avoid this mess."

Jess clenched her jaw and anger flashed in her eyes.

"Ya really thank I could jus' walk away? This is my home now, my friends 'n' family. I intend ta stay 'n' pertect it as long as I'm still breathin'."

The swordswoman nodded as she shifted her aching ankle. She knew Jess was head over heels with Daryl and that she had come to call the prison home so the cowgirl's statement didn't surprise her.

"Good," she looked away from her friend, not wanting to ask her next question but needed to know, "who all is sick?"

"Jus' Karen 'n' some guy from tha Decatur group so far. They're puttin' 'em down in A ta get 'em away from everyone else."

"How are you feeling?" Michonne asked with concern for her friend. They may have only been here a few hours but there was no telling who was sick or carrying this flu that could pass it to them.

"I'm madder than a wet hen but other'n that I'm fine," she said with conviction.

"Mad?" Michonne said raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, jus' somethin' Daryl did," she gave in breif explanation. She wasn't one to complain but she wasn't above admitting to her friend who she was mad at.

"Trouble in paradise?" Michonne asked seriously.

"Like I said, hell inna handbasket. Ain't time ta worry 'bout personal stuff," Jess reiterated. "Gotta get back ta work. I'll keep ya posted. 'N' stay off tha foot 'n' it'll heal faster."

Jess said as she uncrossed her arms and headed for the door. Michonnes voice had he stop short.

"Hold up. I got something for you," the swordswoman called out. Jess turned around to see Michonne pull out the hair still in a braid that Jess had cut off earlier. Michonne tossed it to Jess who caught the heavy braid easily. She looked down to see that the top that had been cut also had a band around it. It was in almost perfect condition. "Thought you might want to hang onto that. That hair's seen a lot of good things," Michonne urged her friend. "I'd hate for you to lose it."

Jess stared at the braid in her hand for several moments, memories of her family before the turn flooding her mind. Her friend was right. She'd been growing this hair for many years and it was a momento of the past, of good things despite the circumstances of losing it. Now that it was no longer weighing her down, she could look back on it when she wanted to remember the love she still felt for them. She could pull it out when she needed a reminder of the fact that even though she'd lost so much, she'd also gained a new family. It was then Jess realized how similar she and Michonne were.

"Thanks, 'Chonne," she said after she cleared her throat of emotion. "Means a lot to me," she added. Michonne just nodded with a small smile. Their similarity wasn't lost on her either.

"If there's anything I can do to help, let me know," Michonne urged in a voice that meant not just with the situation outside, but with whatever was going on is Jess' personal life as well.

"You'll be tha first," Jess promised before she took a step towards the door. "I best get goin'. Don' wanna get y'all sick or anythin'."

Michonne just nodded as Jess waved before she turned and used the fabric of her shirt over her hand to push the door open. After she stepped through and the door shut firmly behind her, Jess saw Daryl waiting for her at the bottom of the fenced off stairs, cutting off her escape.

She still wasn't ready to face him yet. She had yet to calm down from being talked down to like a weakling. So before he could say anything, Jess steeled herself and practically stomped down the stairs to face him directly.

"Look, Dixon, we ain't got time fer a come ta Jesus talk. Ya talked down ta me like I was nothin'-"

"Ya ain't nothin', Jess," he interrupted as he tried to defend her and himself.

"Shut it, I ain't done," Jess growled as she held up her hand. She was furious and she needed to get her point across. "We don't got time fer this. Right now we focus on these people 'n' you treat me like an equal'r I'll knock ya plumb inna next week. Ya understand?"

Daryl held Jess's eyes for several seconds before nodding and looking away in defeat. The hunter waited until she'd pushed past him on her way back down to the graveyard to continue digging the graves for the dead before he finally looked at her again.

He really hadn't meant to treat her that way back at the fence but when she saw that a walker had her he was terrified. The thought of her being bitten combined with his rough nature made him react like he was angry. It hurt that he'd unintentionally caused a rift between them especially with everything else that was going on. Had it been any other time, he'd fight back but Jess was right in that they really didn't have time to deal with their personal issues. He felt a little sheepish at how his actions made her feel and agreed to her request even though he knew he wouldn't be able to treat her as he did the others. She was special so he couldn't help if he worried or treated her differently. He decided to give in to her wishes until they could work it out after the situation they were in was under control and Jess had calmed down. He just hoped it didn't take too long. Having her so close yet so distant made him anxious.


End file.
